The Power Sweep's One and Only 2023 Mock Draft

Mock drafts are a fun form of pretend because you can almost never be wrong. Does someone get drafted higher than you expect? Wow, that really doesn’t align with my board. Better hit the restart button. Does someone fall to you? That’s a totally plausible scenario. Draft someone who turns out to be a bum? Well, even the pros get it wrong!

With that backdrop, I am pleased to present my one and only mock draft, done via the Pro Football Focus mock draft simulator. I chose not to do any trades in this draft, but there were a couple of points at which I considered it, as you’ll see in the breakdown.

Here’s a look at who I picked.

13 - Myles Murphy - EDGE - Clemson

This was one of the tougher picks I made, and if I was Brian Gutekunst and the board broke the way it did for me here, I might try to trade back. The best players available here were Murphy, Dalton Kincaid, and Michael Mayer, and I chose Murphy, figuring that of those three, he could make the biggest difference in the short and long term.

42 - Darnell Washington - TE - Georgia

It had to be Washington, right? My love for him should be well known, and the Packers have a clear need at tight end. With his skills as a blocker, he won’t even need to contribute all that much in the passing game to be an asset from the get-go, and if he develops into anything at all as a receiver (and he should), he’ll be a plus player for years to come.

45 - Keeanu Benton - DL - Wisconsin

This was the first spot where I felt like trading back would have been the right move. I like Benton a lot. I don’t know if I like him at 45, but he was the only player I felt fit at this point in the draft, so I pulled the trigger. In real life, I probably would have tried to slide back 10 spots or so, but that’s how it goes.

I also considered Kansas State edge rusher Felix Anudike-Uzomah both here and at 45, but thought a double-dip at edge this early was a bit much.

82 - Rashee Rice - WR - SMU

I like Rice a lot and I think he complements both Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs well. He’s a little on the shorter side as far as Packers receivers go, but he has some positional versatility and is a good enough athlete to get the job done.

TCU defensive back Tre Tomlinson, NC State offensive lineman Chandler Zavala, and Wake Forest defensive lineman Kobie Turner were also considerations here, but none of them is a slam dunk for me.

116 - Moro Ojomo - DL - Texas

Kenny Clark gets a running mate in the young and talented Ojomo. Though he’s only 21, he has five years of college football under his belt and posted an excellent 9.17 Relative Athletic Score at the NFL Combine. He wasn’t terribly productive, but he’s a very intriguing prospect and the Packers need more athletes on the defensive line.

Kobie Turner was still on the board for me here, as was Iowa State safety Anthony Johnson, but I don’t love Johnson and I feel like Ojomo has more long-term upside than Turner.

149 - Keaton Mitchell - RB - Eastern Carolina

I don’t really know what the Packers are looking for at running back, but Mitchell was a dynamo at Eastern Carolina despite his size (5-9, 184 pounds). Why? Well, a 4.37 second 40-yard dash is never a bad thing, and he is also an asset in the receiving game.

I also considered fellow diminutive running back Deuce Vaughn out of Kansas State and Michigan offensive lineman Olu Oluwatimi here, but thought Vaughn’s value was better.

The Packers have a bunch of picks late in the draft, so here’s a quick rundown of why I picked who I did there. Even the pros are throwing darts at this point, so judge accordingly.

207 - Grant DuBose - WR Charlotte - A traits wide receiver to put in the pipeline. The Packers need more bodies with upside at receiver.

232 - Stetson Bennett - QB - Georgia - Brian Gutekunst wants to add a quarterback, so how about the athletic Bennett? Seems like you could do worse past the 200-pick mark.

235 - Ben Sims - TE - Baylor - Sims had a pre-draft visit with the Packers, posted an 8.39 RAS, and is a tight end. What other rationale do you need?

242 - Jordan Howden - S - Minnesota - Howden doesn’t do much for me as a prospect, but the Packers liked him enough to bring him in for a visit. Maybe they see something we don’t!

256 - Jake Moody - K - Michigan - Gutekunst doesn’t sound optimistic about Mason Crosby coming back, so I figured I might as well grab a kicker. Jake Moody is Dane Brugler’s top-rated kicking prospect, so you could probably do worse than that at 256.